Nude or naked, the ideal or simply the unadorned, the female figure tells a story that harks back to the beginning of time. Working within and against traditions that are both sacred and sexual, Juliette Aristides, Anthony Ryder, Sharon Sprung, Costa Vavagiakis and Mary Beth McKenzie, in concert with artists since the beginning of time, believe that drawing the nude figure is an experience that is both necessary and profound. —Maureen Bloomfield

Costa Vavagiakis

“I can’t paint or draw in depth if I don’t know the model well,” says Vavagiakis, who, like Sprung, teaches at the Art Students League of New York and has recorded videos for ArtistsNetwork.TV. “There’s a a level of detail that’s developed over time.”